The Little Things

As I get older, I find more nad more that it's the little things that make me happy. I tend to pass some of these things by, because they're not big and showy; it's easy to miss them.

There are lots of little things at Shabo-Mekaw (to find out more about our country getaway, follow the links at the bottom of this page) this time of year.   For instance, these 'mini-landscapes' that we often walk right over as we hike through the forest. If you stop to pay attention, though, they're really quite beautiful - nature's tiny gardens of shining club moss, sensitive plant, sorrel, and ferns.

False foxglove

 There are a plethora of mushrooms growing here, of seemingly endless types and colors. I've never seen this blue one before.

For whatever reason, this particular stand of joe-pye weed was covered with butterflies...

Purple-headed sneeze weed

Downy lobelia

 Sumac is a beautiful tree with pink or red fruits. I have no idea which species this is - there are 35, including the poison one.

 Naked-Flowered Tick-Trefoil (maybe) and Hairy Hawkweed. The flowers on both of these are smaller than the head of a thumbtack.

 I didn't have time to look up all the mushrooms, but they come in every shape and color. The orange ones are actually much brighter orange than they appear in the photo.

 Mist Flower

  Hoary Mountain Mint

Field milkwort

 Early goldenrod

The eastern rainforest - poplar, oak, mountain laurel, white pine, lots of ferns...

Waterlily pads and some kind of aquatic reed.

Queen Anne's Lace

 Ironweed

 Field Thistle

 Joe-pye weed and butterfly by the pond.

It's almost time to say good-bye to summer... sigh...

Transformation 47

I seem to have amassed quite a bunch of art works that I haven't yet put online. There are several reasons for this, including the lack of a good camera to take photos of art, too much other stuff going on, and frankly, I forgot about some of them. Also, I thought I should wait until I could put them on my new website, for whatever reason. Yeah, I know - blah, blah, blah - it doesn't really matter, does it?

The Transformations series has been ongoing for a long time. I you want to know how it all got started, go here.

Transformation 47

monotype collage with mixed media, 7 x 7 inches

I can't believe I'm at number 49 now, and still going! I will post numbers 48 and 49 soon. I hope you enjoy, and I hope everyone is having a great summer (or winter)!


Since my website is still down, I probably should add that if you're interested in buying this piece, please contact me through the link on my sidebar, or message me on facebook. Thanks!

Commission Painting Finished!

I don't typically do much commission work, but I am always open to it if I have the time and it's something I know how to do. And, when the clients are your daughter and son-in-law, how can you refuse, right? I actually really enjoyed doing this painting; it's different from what I usually do, and that was liberating in lot of ways. It was also really nice to take some time way from working on the website, which can get (very!) tedious at times.

I had already shared a couple of teasers on instagram, just some work-in-progress details. But now that my daughter and her hubby have seen it, and given it the final stamp of approval, I can share it with all of you!

The Wave

acrylic paint with acrylic ink, 30 x 40

I had lots of fun making this piece. It's been a long time since I've worked this large, or used quite this much paint! I did most of it out on my front porch, since it's shaded during the early part of the day.  I was using the inks and watered down paint in a watercolor-type technique, pouring on puddles of paint and then letting the excess run off the end of the porch. This would not have been practical on the hardwood floors in the studio. Later on, I did some of the foamy parts inside, coving the floor with old throw rugs. Really made me want to go to the ocean, though!